Heads it is - coin toss decides a Classic title often copied but never bettered

“A few minutes, only a few minutes, and the event that for 12 months has been the pivot of so much calculation, of such subtle combinations, of such deep conspiracies, round which the thought and passion of the sporting world have hung like eagles, will be recorded in the fleeting tablets of the past. But what minutes! Count them by sensation and not by calendars, and each moment is a day and the race a life.”

Benjamin Disraeli, who served two stints as Prime Minister in the 19^th century, was as much a master of the written word as he was of the political realm. The above contribution isn't one of his more quotable gems, but it’s a gem nonetheless.

Disraeli was conveying the timeless allure of the Derby, a jewel in Flat racing's crown that retains its pre-eminence 240 years after it was first run around Epsom’s singularly unique undulations in 1780. By the time he composed the passage in his novel Sybil, the race was already 57 years old.